Agra to Jaipur and life in between

I don’t know where to begin. I have seen so much in our short time in India that it is overwhelming to try and describe. Every second and everywhere I look I see a story. An image is ingrained in my mind and feelings are provoked.  My camera is not fast enough to catch all of the life moments as we drive past. I wish I could download every scene because each is so unique and special. I have managed to take over 600 photos in the last 2 days, many are not images of Mike and I, or the monuments and palaces we’ve visited but they are of everyday people living their everyday routines. I find them all so fascinating from the men pulling heavy loads of milk on their bicycles, to women cutting wheat in the fields, children running and playing in the streets with no shoes on, to the cows, camels, water buffalo, goats, dogs and even an elephant in the middle of the road! Instead of describing our day in chronological detail I will try and describe different categories of scenes that we have come across. I hope you will understand that I’m not critical of the unsanitary details or the immense poverty and homelessness but that I’m deeply moved and humbled by them.

The average block of road in the city has a lot of chaos. You will find many fruit stands, snack shacks, alleyways and homes.  It’s not uncommon to see people sleeping on the street, people cooking, cleaning, working and children playing.

 Traffic is complete madness with no apparent set of rules except for honking. You will find auto rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, horse drawn-donkey drawn wagons, buses and many motorbikes. Many times a whole family will be on the motorbike with small children sitting in the front or between their parents….helmets are occasionally seen. I’ve seen small autos with 12 people crammed in and on some of the buses people will ride on the top or sit in the stairway where there is no door! Animals peruse the streets as they please and are in the middle of it all! Pedestrians do not have the right of way and when crossing the street in India one might fear for their life. I know I did! People drive head on, and sideways there were multiple times Mike and I could have been struck on our 5 hr drive from Agra to Jaipur.



cammels crossing the road



My favorite and most sought over sight is that of children. Many children wear tattered clothing some don’t have shoes.  Others have saris or school uniforms on and in Jaipur I found some girls with jeans on. I find it fascinating as some children are seen helping their parents selling fruit or pappadums on the side of the road and others are seen playing cricket or splashing in the water pumps. There was one little boy that was seen running down a back alley with a stick and a wheel frame. Most children are seen wandering or playing all by themselves or in a group, but there is not necessarily adult supervision. I do find it heartwarming to see mothers carrying their babies or a father holding his daughter’s hand. I have seen children rummaging through garbage cans and begging for food. At tourist attractions children will often be selling small handicrafts and newspapers. Today I saw a pair of little boys put on a magic show for some people. Children are often fascinated by us and will often wave and their smiles warm my heart and fill my soul. They are so innocent and pure and some live their life in unimaginable living circumstances but yet they are so content playing and being children.



girl walking her cow



In the city most woman are seen at the markets or with their children. Driving through the small villages in the country side is a whole other story. I felt as though I was sent back in a time machine. The things I saw were things I read out of textbooks in school. The women were often seen hand washing clothes and setting them out to dry. I also saw women walking carrying bundles of firewood, buckets of water and even packs of buffalo chips on their heads. Our driver told us that the life of a woman is very challenging and has her doing hard laborious work. Every morning the women have to retrieve water for the family’s daily use. Sometimes they have to walk miles and will balance canteens on their heads as well as carry some with their hands. Next they have to gather firewood to use as fuel to prepare meals with. Again, women were seen carrying heavy loads of firewood. Next they have to gather the food. As we would drive down the road I would see fields of wheat and in the middle of them there would be bright patches of color. The color would be groups of women in their beautiful saris out in the heat of the day cutting wheat with small rods.  When they would finish this task it would be time to prepare meals for the family. Our driver said that most village meals would include rice, dal (lentils), vegetables and chapatti (wheat breads). After miles and hours of driving past and watching these women my heart was heavy and I vowed never to complain about making dinner again. 

a woman carrying buffalo chips

Men in the villages were mostly seen bathing, herding animals or selling items in their stalls. Things sold were anything from food to tires and tools. In the city men are seen selling, hair cutting and bicycling heavy loads of goods and materials. There are many bicycle rickshaws, for those of you not familiar it would be a carriage connected to a bike that people would sit in while the man bicycles and drives them to their destination. Mind you it’s in the 90s and the heat is relentless in India. We have noticed at our hotels and in restaurants it is mainly men working.

Viewing the housing in the villages in India was like stepping back in time. Most were made of grass, yes grass! There were some made from brick and dung. There would be entire villages made from these types of homes. In the city we have seen a variety of homes from apartments to tattered shacks, abandon buildings, alleyways, parks and the most humbling on the street. I am beginning to understand why we have seen so many people going to the bathroom on the side of the street or near train tracks it is because having a bathroom is a pure luxury that many don’t have.

I am anxious to spend time in the bigger cities of Kolkata and Delhi to depict their daily routines and living arrangements. I would like to make note that my descriptions in this posting only represent a portion of life in India. Certainly, there are people with higher incomes who have apartments and nice homes. There are thoose  with successful careers and who have prominent positions in the business, medical and political arenas.  The poverty is so vastly different from the poverty that I have witnessed and therefore I have been intrigued to write about it. India is a kaleidoscope of colors, aromas and variety of lifestyles.